Circular services is the new black for Fristads

For the fourth year in a row the Swedish clothing manufacturer Fristads chooses not to participate in the sales initiative Black Friday. Instead, the company takes new steps towards circularity, launching three sustainable service offers to extend the products’ life through repairs, reuse and recycling.

“The clothing industry globally accounts for four to eight percent of the total climate-affecting emissions. Besides avoiding overconsumption through initiatives as Black Friday which tend to lead to overproduction, we need to make sure the garments already produced are used to their full potential before being discarded. By finding ways to extend the products’ life, by repairing or repurposing them – we believe we can contribute to reducing our industry’s impact on the environment,” says Petra Öberg Gustafsson, CEO of Fristads.

Earlier this year, Fristads announced that they are broadening the scope of their environmental work to six impact areas to support the ongoing work to reduce the company’s climate impact with 50% by 2030. The initiative goes under the name REACT and includes efforts to reduce the climate footprint of the products as well as the development of a sustainable service offer.

“The workwear industry must transition to more sustainable ways of doing business and to do so we must broaden the scope of our environmental work. REACT is our way of staking out a clear path towards change. The purpose is not only to reduce our own environmental impact, but also to help our customers and partners reduce theirs, by making more environmentally conscious decisions about workwear,” said Petra Öberg Gustafsson, CEO of Fristads.

Sustainability as a service
The circular solution with sustainability services for repairs, reuse and recycling is currently offered exclusively to dealers and contract customers. The groundwork was laid during 2023 and during 2024 the service offer has been expanded to customers in more markets. One of the pilot projects for the Reuse service has been carried out together with Vattenfall in Sweden. The project involves supporting Vattenfall with collecting used garments at their many different locations. After quality control and potential repairs, the garments can be reused. And if the garments are worn out, we make sure they are recycled.

"The longer workwear can be used, the less environmental impact it has. That is why we want to challenge ourselves and our customers to find new ways to extend the life of existing products. In this process it is incredibly valuable to collaborate with customers who also prioritise sustainability," said Frida Avasalu, Global Solutions Director at Fristads.